In general, an electronic control device such as an electronic control unit (ECU), which electronically controls various types of devices, is equipped in a vehicle. The electronic control device receives information from sensors or switches that are installed at each part of the vehicle, and serves to perform various electronic controls for promoting improvement of a riding quality and safety of the vehicle or providing various items of convenience to a driver and a passenger by processing the received information.
The electronic control device controls states of an engine, an automatic transmission, an ABS, and the like in the vehicle using a computer. It has been growing to control all parts in the vehicle through the electronic control device, such as a driving system, a braking system, a steering system, the automatic transmission, as the computer have been developed in terms of performance.
The electronic control device such as the ECU has a structure that includes a case which includes an upper cover and a lower base, a PCB which is accommodated in the case, a connector which is coupled to a front end of the PCB so as to be connected to an external socket, and the like.
Further, the case has a structure in which the cover and the base are assembled together with the PCB while covering the PCB, and particularly, the connector, which is interposed between the cover and the base when the cover and the base are assembled, forms a sealing structure with the cover side and the base side.
The electronic control device has a high integrated control circuit means, and thus requires a predetermined sealing structure that may prevent external moisture or foreign substances from flowing into the electronic control device, and the electronic control device mainly adopts a sealing structure in which the cover and the base are typically assembled together with the connector in a state in which sealing materials are inserted on binding parts between the cover and the base and the connector so as to protect the PCB and the like in the electronic control device.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,448 discloses “a technology having a structure which includes a housing, and a sealing member for coupling the housing and a plug body, in which the sealing member is interposed between a protrusion of the plug body and a groove of the housing”.
In addition, Japanese Patent No. 4470980 discloses “a technology having a structure which includes upper and lower cases, a printed circuit board, a connector, and a waterproof material, in which the waterproof material is interposed between groove portions of the upper and lower cases”.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,381 discloses “a technology having a structure which includes a sealing member for coupling a printed circuit board, a connector, and a case, in which the sealing member is interposed between grooves of the case”.
However, the sealing structures, which are applied to the electronic control device in the related art, are mostly configured as a structure in which a sealing member is applied on binding regions between grooves or projections at a connector side, or between projections or grooves at a cover side and a base side, and as a result, it is difficult to secure sealing quality for assembling regions between the connector, and the cover and the base because of an insufficient sealing area.